LOWELL -- A Boston Marathon bombing suspect who died in an apparent gunfight early Friday morning is a Lowell Golden Gloves boxer who told The Sun in 2004, "I like the USA" after winning his first fight here.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was reportedly chased down by officials in a massive manhunt and killed. His brother, Dzhokhar, 19, was captured Friday night.

Tamerlan grew up in Grozny, Chechnya, the capital city of the Chechen Republic. Much of Grozny was destroyed during the Russia-Chechen conflict, and Tsarnaev and his family moved to the United States in 2003 in hopes of starting a new life, according to a Sun article from January 2004.

Tsarnaev fought in the Lowell Sun Charities Golden Gloves tournament in the 178-pound novice class and won his fight.

"I wanted to fight in the Gloves to see how I would do," Tsarnaev told The Sun that night. "So far, so good."

He also said: "I like the USA ... America has a lot of jobs. That's something Russia doesn't have. You have a chance to make money here if you are willing to work."

It is alleged that beginning at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday and what would turn into a violent and anxiety-filled night that would grip several Greater Boston communities, Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar killed an MIT police officer, severely wounded another lawman and hurled explosives at law enforcement in a car chase and gun battle.

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They had been in the U.S. for about a decade.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, a 26-year-old who had been known to the FBI as Suspect No. 1 and was seen in surveillance footage of the marathon in a black baseball cap, was killed overnight, officials said. His younger brother, who had been dubbed Suspect No. 2 and was seen wearing a white, backward baseball cap in the images from Monday's deadly bombing -- escaped and was captured Friday night.

Following his fights at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Tamerlan Tsarnaev represented Team New England in the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in 2009 and 2010.

John Curran, of Watertown, Tsarnaev's coach at the 2009 Nationals in Salt Lake City, recalled that Tsarnaev wasn't feeling well one particular morning during the tourney.

"So I went to his room and knocked on the door," said Curran, who knew Tsarnaev through the Somerville Boxing Club. "I walked into the room and he was doing that Muslim thing, he was praying. There was a little carpet. I didn't know he was a Muslim. I was surprised. I had never seen anything like that.

"If you had asked me two days before this happened what kind of person he was, I would say terrific, talented, respectful" Curran told The Sun from his home, which he couldn't leave because law enforcement had locked-down the community while the search for Dzhokhar was underway. "Suffice to say, I am shocked beyond belief today."

Curran called Tsarnaev "a perfect physical specimen" who could walk "50 yards on his hands with boxing gloves on." Curran said he could do a full split, run real fast, do hundreds of push-ups.

"He was a European-style fighter," said Curran. "No bobbing and weaving, anything like that. He stood straight up and took the fight to the opponent.

"He also played the piano very well," said Curran. Tsarnaev also studied music at a school in Russia and played piano and violin.

Curran said boxing coaches like himself try to keep aspiring athletes off the streets, "out of drugs and alcohol.

"Just flabbergasted that this young man was having these kind of thoughts," Curran added. "He just got lost. Got lost somewhere."

Bob Russo, of Portland, Maine, is the executive director of the Lowell Sun Charities New England Golden Gloves Tournament. He told The Sun: "We're all in just a state of shock. What I remember about this young man was that he was an incredible athlete. Didn't talk a lot. Very respectful."

"But in no way is this representative of the tournament or the sport," said Russo. Tommy Lee, president of the South Boston Boxing League, said Tsarnaev came to his gym in 2010 and 2011. He wasn't a daily boxer, but still a "phenomenal athlete," Lee said.

"He had great hand speed, great hand-eye coordination. Just everything you want in a boxer," Lee said. "He was very, very respectful, very courteous. He seemed like a very normal young man. There was no anger whatsoever.

"He was a bright young man and seemed to be raised right," he added. "His father was very accomplished, I was told."

Lee received a text Friday morning from one of the gym regulars, saying that Tsarnaev was the bomber and had died in a gunfight.

Lee responded with "haha."

"I thought he was joking. There was no way," Lee said. "Then I saw the most recent photograph, and my heart sunk."

Dr. Joseph Downes of Downes Chiropractic in Lowell, presented Tsarnaev with a trophy at the Lowell tournament in 2010.

"I only got to meet him minutes here and there, but I recall him listening to his coach in the corner and doing what most fighters do," Downes said. "He would listen to his coaches and try to make himself better and more effective.

"When I heard, it was shocking because Lowell boxing helps them along in life," he added. "Unfortunately, some kids get left of center and get themselves in problems."

Though Tsarnaev went to school here, the "pretty-good sized heavyweight" spoke broken English, Downes said.

"He spoke English, but not the way you and I would," he said. "He seemed to be a reasonable individual at that particular time, but something happened."

Peter Manfredo, a Rhode Island-based boxing trainer of 34 years, who traveled as a team coach with one of his own fighters and Curran and Tsarnaev on the 2009 Nationals trip to Salt Lake City. He recalled Tsarnaev as quiet and well-behaved.

"I remember (Tsarnaev) fought one time, kind of a close fight, but he lost and then he was just hanging around for the week with us after that," said Manfredo. "He seemed like a real nice kid, pretty quiet, normal. He didn't say anything like he hated America.

"But you never know what's going on in people's minds," added Manfredo. "I feel bad for those people in Boston. You just can't believe (the Tsanarnaev brothers) would do something like what they did Monday. What would make them do that? I just can't understand it."

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